July 2006
Media, Police, Street, Underworld Despite denials that they have not initiated any hostilities, The Consortium continues to come under attack from an increasingly violent Sandernacht Group. Rumour has it that The Sandernacht Group may be behind the recent purchase of large quantities of industrial fertilizer; presumably to be used as explosives against The Constabulary. The reasons behind the attacks remain a mystery, The Consortium has made few attempts to expand its territory recently and The Sandernacht Group seemed content to allow them to operate within their own area. Are the attacks linked to rumours that The Consortium are behind the firebombing of Sandernacht controlled crack houses? Police, Street, Underworld Rumour has it that whoever is behind the recent attacks on The Consortium is not actually part of The Sandernacht Group, or they have at least been disavowed by the criminal organisation. Certain recent events would certainly support this theory, in particular the killing of Jimmy “Gotcha” Williams, a low level fence in the city. The Consortium certainly seem to be interested in this theory, rumour has it that they have met with representatives of The Sandernacht Group to discuss the matter and avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Media, Occult, Police, Street Interested in who is attacking The Consortium? The Guardian certainly is. This normally reclusive rooftop dweller has been seen out in public more than usual lately, furthering the rumours that he is on the payroll of The Consortium, asking questions about who is trying to start a gang war. Half a dozen guys have ended up in hospital following an unpleasant incident with a till and their fingers, although whether he got any answers remains unknown. The Constabulary (who until recently had him listed as a low priority) have certainly taken an interest in his renewed vigour; a special squad has been set up to capture him before the violence changes to killing. Bureaucracy, Legal, Media, Police, Politics “Containment”; that is the keyword that Constabulary Detective John Weide stated would be the watch word of his new Department at a press conference to mark its instigation. The department, which is currently thirty officers strong, will deal with the increasing problem of gang related violence in the city and ways of tackling it. Weide, who has a history of direct action against criminal organisations, stated that the first order would be to “contain gang crime to the areas it currently occupies”, before eliminating the menace once and for all. Whether this is just rhetoric remains a mystery, but the bean counters are already worried by his application for funding in order to train more Armed Response Officers. Street, Underworld Whilst the media has been focussing attention on The Consortium and its troubles, a recent report undertaken on behalf of The Constabulary has indicated that over half of the country’s cities now have either a “significant or considerable” presence of gangs related to The Sandernacht Group. No longer just a local concern, it seems that everyone’s favourite bogeyman has finally hit the big league and set up camp in other cities as well. Will he cause as much trouble for them as he has for us, well given that there are already reported turf wars in Birmingham and Manchester since the expansion the likely answer is yes. Media, Street Whilst the feared gang war has not yet materialised (mainly, it must be said, because no side involved in the conflict believes that the attacks have originated from their reputed source), many of the gangs have used this time to reinforce their hold on the city. Chief amongst these (as usual) is The Sandernacht Group, which has reputedly negotiated new contracts for the supply of hard drugs into the city, despite the recent violence against a number of its “facilities”. With the drugs and weapons markets apparently sewn up by Sandernacht, The Consortium has regained it’s stranglehold on the vice trade. The only omission appears to be The Gambinos; although rumour has it that they may have gone legit. Media, Police, Street, Underworld Jimmy “Gotcha” Williams was just a low level broker with a reputation for being able to get things done, or at least he was until The Sandernacht Group got hold of him. Now he’s been found face down dead in a dumpster, although it took a while to identify him as his head had been sent to a local newspaper. Jimmy is believed to have been the broker of several deals recently that led to the attack of Consortium owned interests, attacks that took place without Sandernacht backing. No one will comment on whether the death is the work of The Sandernacht Group, but the gristly manner would appear to support such claims. Media, Police, Politics, Underworld The Constabulary closed their investigation into who was behind the murder of Jimmy “Gotcha” Williams almost as fast as it opened it, as far as they and everyone else is concerned it’s obvious who was behind it – even if they haven’t admitted it. They are however worried about the final few entries in Jimmy’s ledger, it looks like the old crook had been buying a lot of chemicals that could be used to manufacture explosives, albeit a crude device. Security has been raised at a number of locations across the city for fear of further attacks like last months. Bureaucracy, Finance, Legal, Media, Politics, Underworld Have The Gambino’s gone legit? Formerly a major player in the city’s underworld, they have been quiet of late following a disastrous gang war against The Sandernacht Group last year, and, if rumours are to be believed, a lack of confidence in their abilities from their original backers. They didn’t completely go to ground, but it was close enough. Now they appear to be backing plans for a large casino complex in the north of the city (along with another mystery financier), one designed to become the premium out of town development in the city. The applications for planning and gaming licenses are currently being processed, but it is looking good for the former crime family. And, if they have chosen to legitimise all of their business interests then they couldn’t have picked a better time considering the possibility of looming conflict. Media, Politics, Underworld A leopard doesn’t change its spots, and neither does a wolf if you ask me. Sure, The Gambino’s are trying to come over all nice and cuddly, but there’s something seriously wrong about this. How come the council isn’t giving them a hard time over their plans to build a casino in the north of the city, and just who is this “mysterious backer”, especially when the last thing this city needs is the ability to create even more gambling addicts. No, they’ve cleaned up their act and have polished up their presentation a bit, but if you ask me they’re all still just crooks! Industry, Media, Police, Transport The Constabulary continues to investigate the theft oft three petrol tankers last month and their subsequent use to attack a private residence and the Asharaka industrial site in Kidsgrove. Investigations are focussing on the attacks (which, it has now been confirmed is not the work of suicide bombers), and why two unlinked targets were chosen. Rumour has it that The Constabulary is receiving full co-operation in their investigations by a local business keen to get to the bottom of the issue, even to the point of bankrolling the officers involved overtime, although this is unconfirmed. The Constabulary has noted that it now has a list of major suspects and will continue to investigate the matter until a conclusion has been reached. Media, Police, Transport, Underworld So how did three oil tankers end up being used as piloted bombs last month? The Constabulary has shed further light on the events leading up to the attacks. Sometime on Saturday 3rd June, three fully laden fuel tankers were stolen from a service station and hidden in overnight storage in a warehouse outside of Longton. The Constabulary believed that the theft was in order to sell the fuel on the black market and that the vehicles would turn up afterwards. However, at 8pm the following evening, one vehicle was driven into a private residence, which was destroyed as a result of the explosion. An hour later the remaining two vehicles were driven through the gates of the Asharaka industrial compound and into Main Containment Tank 3; the resultant explosion releasing over five tons of a concentrated anti-foliate into the atmosphere and being seen three miles away. Since then The Constabulary has confirmed the arrest of the owner of the warehouse that was used to store the vehicles, but he has been unwilling to co-operate and thus further arrests have not been made. Media, Occult, University Astrologists and physicists from Keele University have been called into investigate the site of a possible meteorite strike in Stoke early yesterday evening (Saturday 1st July 2006). The believed strike was at 10pm that evening, and witnesses in the street noted a “bright, streaking light” hit the ground just ten feet from the nearest property. Emergency crews were called to the scene due to fears that it may have fallen off a passing aircraft; but following calls to all airports (both civilian and military) this was quickly discounted. Background radiation samples were taken and the possibility of a meteorite strike was established. An investigating team from the university commented that it has taken a 40mm rock sample back to its laboratories for analysis. If the meteorite turns out to be genuine then it will be donated to a local museum for display. Occult, Street Meteorite strike! That wasn't a meteorite strike! Last time I saw something like that was back in December 2003, when all those pretty lights were being used against Castelan. Of course, no believed me then either, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t true! You see, the government put up a series of “Orbital Mind Control” Satellites in the early nineties to keep everyone in line, the only problem is that they malfunction every so often and fire of a stream of pure mind energy. See this scar here, I got that when one of them tried to hit me last year; of course it was disguised as a blue estate car but I knew what it was really. ~ Unidentified Loon, Hanley Bus Station. Church, Occult We must be careful where we let our internal conflicts take us; if we are not then all we will do is awaken those who care for such things. The environment has its own spirits that nurture and care for it, and when man releases his poisons onto it, it will fight back. These spirits are older than man and his descendents, and will still be here when man is all but gone. They are the truth of things and should be respected for this strength, or their vengeance will be swift. ~ Caoilfhionn Ashen Media, Police The scene of much tragedy last year, Werrington Woods is once again in the news with reports of all manner of strange goings on within those dark and musty trees. Nothings been seen of course, but the locals are all complaining about “strange goings on in the woods” over their pints each night, honestly it’s more like some low grade horror film than a community. Still, The Constabulary has promised to look into the issue, as soon as it’s dealt with current threat of a gang war. Health, Occult Remember old Alfred, that guy who’s forever out walking his dog during all hours of the night? He’s in hospital and has had to have his leg amputated below the knee – says he stood in a bear trap; but there are no bears up in those woods. Weird things was that when the paramedics found him there was no trap around his leg, and trust me it takes two men to open one of those things, I don’t care how much adrenaline you’ve got surging through your system. They said it looked more as if it had been gnawed off and the way he was rambling really got them spooked, something about “burning eyes”. Last mystery, who phoned in the incident? There was no name, and apart from a soft East European accent, nothing unusual about the voice; very odd if you ask me. Occult, Street I’ve seen figure, strangely dressed in robes and stuff, up on the hills in Werrington Woods; looks like they’re wearing masks as well, real horror-show like, but that isn’t the most of it. What was I doing there? Well me and my girl were up there fro some peace and quiet, if you know what I mean, when all of a sudden out swoops this man telling us to run away and don’t look back. Then I heard all of this clanging, metal on metal like you get in those old swashbuckling films you get in the afternoon, very exciting, so I looked back and there’s this lunatic fighting with some sort of dragon! Can my girlfriend collaborate this? Hold on, you’ll have to ask Ms. Sock what she saw. ~ Dishevelled Young Man, Wetley Rocks. Bureaucracy, Finance, Media, Politics Council clean up crews have begun industrial action over pay following claims that the work is becoming more and more dangerous, indeed it is rumoured that the partially devoured bodies of a number of animals were found. The council remains unmoved on this, seeing this as little as little more than an excuse to hold the city to ransom during a predicted hot summer; remember folks, hot weather plus a stagnant sewage system is likely to make life very unpleasant for all of us. Bureaucracy, Health, Police Keep it under your hat, but pathologists have been called in to investigate a number of animal corpses that are reputed to have been found in the city’s sewers. The authorities are trying to keep an lid on the issue for fear that striking workers will attempt to use it to further their pay claims; but the strange nature of the bite marks has left them alarmed that there may be a large group of roving predators (vicious dogs?) that could pose a threat. The Constabulary has a specialist team on standby to deal with any problems. Occult, Street I’m telling you it’s easy to get lost down in those sewers, sure the walls are no longer moving (and don’t believe for a minute that I bought the party line on that one – that was some weird shit), but a lot of our old markings have gone and I don’t know whether I’m under one street or another. Old Charlie got it worst though, he stumbled down into this pit that none of us had seen and broke his leg, so we went to get a rope to rescue him. By the time we got back he wasn’t there anymore, all that was left was his cap, and Charlie never leaves his cap anywhere. ~ Unidentified Loon, Hanley Bus Station. Bureaucracy, Health, Media, Politics Local Councillors have praised Pest Controllers for the reduction in the number of stray animals in the city; the only problem is they say that they aren’t behind it! Has Stoke acquired its very own sewer alligators? Unlikely and the Health & Safety Executive are now undertaking a full inspection of all fast food outlets in the city for signs of “contamination”. So just be careful what you eat out there folks, it could have been next doors dog yesterday. Media, Occult, Police The Constabulary has been unofficially investigating disappearances of family pets after some owners commented that they had been stolen for live sacrifices! The heat always has a tendency to bring these people out, but following last months very messy suicide of three former members of the Unification Theorists they aren’t taking any chances that some people may be taking the incarceration of James Helmudson very seriously. Church, Media, Police, University The local Catholic diocese is in uproar after what is believed to have been a student prank swapped much of the Communion Wine for animal blood. The prank, which has been roundly condemned by religious leaders across the city, has been attributed to the students opposing the perceived control the church has over the state (although why they did not target the Anglican Church instead remains a mystery). The Constabulary has launched an investigation into the matter. Church, Occult, University Okay, I can just about understand a group of students breaking into a church and replacing Communion Wine with animal blood, but what I cannot get my head around is the fact that the attending priest did not notice the substitution until Communion was under way? Witnesses say that there was no indication that a change had been made until the first recipient had begun to drink. If you ask me (and no one does), that doesn’t sound like a student prank. Health, Media, Occult Okay, so there’s this near riot up at the Penkhull Secure Institute, three escapees and all manner of chaos and Helmudson isn’t at the centre of it? Way I heard it from one of the attending officers, when they got their all of the inmates were artfully arranged in some sort of weird parody of “The Last Supper”, with Helmudson at the head of the table! Now, I know it’s fully of crazies, but that doesn’t sound like something your average kook would come up with, that takes planning and there’s only one man in there who’s capable of doing something like that – Helmudson. Occult, Police, Politics Okay, it’s completely off the record, but when Armed Response got to Penkhull Secure Institute, there were a couple of guys who couldn’t get through the door, said the place had some sort of weird “vibe” that made them uncomfortable, very strange. The other weird thing is those guys in the fedoras and jackets; no on one called them, they just knew about it and turned up. Now the way I heard it they’ve got jurisdiction over just about everything, even John Winters kowtows to their demands, so if they can arrest anyone they want with no explanation, how come they only arrest on poor nurse who happened to be on duty that night? Health, Legal, Media, Police, Politics The Constabulary has launched a major investigation into the rioting at the Penkhull Secure Institute last month, in particular what was the cause. One line of inquiry that has been eliminated is that it was the work of James Helmudson - that would be impossible; Helmudson is held in a different wing from where the riot started and no one apart from the Warden comes into contact with him and the inmates who started the riot. It is now believed that the rioting was started by the three escapees (who are all still at large), who had managed to secrete makeshift lock picks about their person despite being held in the most secure wing of the facility. Before making their escape, the three suspects overpowered a guard and released the violent offenders into the general population and then used the confusion to escape. In addition to The Constabulary investigation, an independent investigation into the affair has now been launched. Health, Occult I saw shapes, alike but not the same, moving amongst us and unsettling our minds with their cruel, cruel thoughts. They made me do strange things, things that I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t fight them. Now they haunt my dreams and I try not to sleep at night. ~ Inmate 4815162342, Penkhull Secure Institute. Media, Police, Politics Despite a large scale manhunt involving over a quarter of active officers, The Constabulary has been unable to apprehend the three escaped patients from the Penkhull Secure Institute. John Winters has now gone on public record as believing that the three are no longer in the city and that port authorities have been informed about their escape in case they attempt to leave the country. The authorities are keen to remind everyone that the three men should be considered extremely dangerous; between them the men are responsible for nearly a dozen violent murders. The search for the three continues. Health, Media, Police, Politics Only one arrest was made as a result of the rioting at Penkhull Secure Institute, and she hasn’t been seen by anyone since. Staff Nurse Elizabeth Strode was taken into custody when it became clear to the authorities (but not, curiously, The Constabulary) that she was the only unaffected witness to the incident. She was formally charged with collaborating with the three escapees in order to aid them; it is believed that she may have been engaged in a relationship with one of them. John Winters has asked that she be placed in The Constabulary’s custody; however the arresting agency has denied this request stating “National Security”. What some love sick nurse has to do with National Security I don’t know, but I’ve learnt better than to ask those sorts of questions when the authorities are involved. Finance, Legal, Media United Holdings has reported a downturn in profit for the last three months as a result of negative publicity against the company. Allegations of involvement in numerous illegal activities have been shown to be unfounded, but it appears that investors have voted with their feet. The company is far from being on dodgy ground, it still has assets of well over one hundred million pounds, but this hasn’t stopped it from launching a fresh advertising campaign designed to raise business. Bureaucracy, Media, Police, Politics Investigations into the slave auction continue, with the confirmation that the auction was linked to a similar one on Glasgow in the nineties. Officers from the Glasgow Constabulary are now working in conjunction with The Constabulary, and it is believed that one of the first points of order will be to establish an accurate description of the two main subjects, who so far have only been identified as “The Twins”. Meanwhile, the fate of many of the victims remains a political hot potato, one that hasn’t been cooled by an apparent spat over the matter between John Winters and John Weide. Church, High Society, Media, Politics Local charitable society The Cross Foundation has been praised for the sensitive manner in which it has volunteered to house one third of the victims of this years earlier slave auction until their political status has been determined. The society, which is linked to neither local government nor any organised religion, has previously concentrated its efforts on supplying food to the needy in the north of the city. Meanwhile, the argument over the political fate of the victims continues, with reputed attacks by far-right groups on properties believed to be housing them. Media, Police Following collaboration with the Glasgow Constabulary, The Constabulary has released photo-fit images of the two chief suspects at the centre of their investigations into the slave auction. Dubbed “The Twins”, they are thought to be the heads of a large scale (possibly national) criminal organisation that “supplies” unsavoury items to other criminals, a sort of wholesale cash and carry for crooks as it were. Rumours also persist that they have a far darker agenda then many gangs are not afraid to deal with items that even some of the most hardened criminals would wince at. The Constabulary is now discussing the possibility of issuing a reward for information that leads to their capture. Street, Underworld So there’s this “Organisation” that supplies us with dodgy goods in exchange for money, tell me something I don’t know. At the end of the day there are only a couple of big names in the underworld nationally, and they’ve all got their fingers in some pretty unpleasant looking pies. What makes these different is that Joe Public has seen them, and now the crowds are baying for their blood at the injustice of it. Media, Police, Politics “Dan O’Keefe was a promising young fighter who could have gone all the way, but chose to try to make some easy money and ended up dead as a result.” In a moving eulogy, his trainer bid farewell to one of the bright young things of the city, tragically cut down in what was believed to have been an illegal fight. Despite assurances that there was not an underground gladiatorial ring, The Constabulary has been forced to admit that officers from its “Mob Squad” have been looking into this issue for a couple of months, and that Dan wasn’t the first victim. Health, Media, Occult, Politics Local hospitals have been forced to admit that there is “an active and damaging trade in illegal organs” within the city. The admission came following a mix up during a transplant operation in which a lung was transported to the hospital instead of a kidney. Investigations into the mix up revealed that the lung had come from an unknown donor and did not have the correct papers. Far more disturbing is that indication that doctors in the local authority have known about this trade and may actually be involved in illegal transplants. High Society, Media Local critics were shocked by a new exhibition of works by an anonymous artist due to its focus on bloodletting. The untitled exhibition has caused a scandal, with many decrying it as being pornographic and obscene. Objections have focussed on a video installation at the centre of the exhibition that shows a man feeding from the open vein of an unidentified young women (believed to be the artist). Despite (or more cynically because of) this controversy, the exhibition has been a sell out success.